John Aloisi is confident Western United are on the right track after a disciplined 1-0 win over champions Melbourne City capped off a promising start to his A-League Men tenure.
After three rounds, United sit second behind Melbourne Victory, who they lost to 1-0 in the opening round, and have won two league games on the bounce.
"It feels like we're on the right track. There's a lot of improving to do and we will improve a lot more. So that's a positive," Aloisi said following Saturday's win.
"We know that we need to pick up points now because we'll get stronger as the season goes on.
"We've still got players to come in, the players that are starting doing well and we know that we'll get better as the season goes on. So that's a positive.
"The biggest thing for me is our football will get better with the ball but defensively Western United conceded a lot of goals last year.
"We haven't conceded from open play in the four games we've played (including FFA Cup)."
Aloisi flagged heavy squad rotation for Tuesday night's FFA Cup clash with Wellington Phoenix, with United planning to give their youngsters and fringe players a run while managing some older bodies.
Serbian striker Aleksandar Prijovic missed Saturday night's match with hamstring tightness and Aloisi conceded the 31-year-old would likely be sidelined for "a couple of weeks" as United look to build him throughout the season.
"I'm not worried about it because it's not a major injury, but it's a little bit of a setback for him," he said.
"We know that that can happen with overseas players when they come in a little bit late, playing a little bit of catch up."
Meanwhile Melbourne City coach Patrick Kisnorbo played down concerns over a scratchy start to his side's title defence or the possibility of a championship hangover, citing a similarly shaky run of games last season.
"We will see at the end of the season," he said.
"You said it to me last year and I'll say the same thing to you too. It is what it is, we move on and we focus on Wednesday.
"Obviously, we need to improve in some areas."
City also look likely to rotate their squad for Wednesday's league clash with Perth Glory given the tight turnaround but Kisnorbo said he would see how his players pulled up.
Australian Associated Press
